This year is a rare and good year, with good weather and good growth of all kinds of crops. Farmers in Qinzhou squat on the ground every day, pulling out weeds in time when there are weeds in the fields, draining water when it is flooded, and watering when it is drought. This kind of good year is not something that can be encountered often, and it is impossible to be careless. The grass on the pasture also grows fat, and the herdsmen are driving cattle and sheep leisurely.

Under the rule of law, the people were busy, and nothing happened in the prefectures and counties, and there was a lazy mood everywhere. Even the small servants in the yamen learned to make a pot of strong tea in the afternoon and spend their boring time under the shade of the trees.

In this leisurely season, the Song army and Dangxiang officially started war in the Huizhou area.

The ten days of Xu Pingding have not yet finished. Shuangbian fought a small battle near the newly built Xinquanzhai. The Song army expelled the Dangxiang Army who came to harass him and reinforcing the Xinquanzhai as a forward base for attacking Huizhou.

After arranging the Qinzhou affairs, Xu Ping rushed to Huichuan City again to meet with the general's mansion, which was previously moved to Wang Kai.

The relocation of the General’s Mansion to Huichuan means that the front line has officially been pushed into the Huizhou area, and the attack direction of Qinfeng Road aimed at Tiandu Mountain.

In the newly built general's mansion, Xu Ping looked at the generals in front of him and said, "In the past years, we have waited until after autumn to prevent autumn. We will arrange how to counterattack the thieves. This year, Qinzhou has become a host and guest, and it has become our attack. The thieves defend, of course, there is no need to follow the old rules of the past years. The court spent countless money and grain, raised hundreds of thousands of troops, did not do production, and was dedicated to fighting, just to avoid seasons and could fight the enemy at any time. After our battle was done, it would be the beginning. It is no longer the Han people waiting for Fanhu to come to the door, but as long as they hate us, they can hit their door at any time. Everyone, this matter is great!"

Everyone agreed and said yes together.

When they each sat down, Xu Ping ordered tea to come. This is his habit. When discussing things, they either serve tea or various snacks, so that everyone will not be allowed to sit down. Discussing issues can easily make people nervous, and being too restrictive will be bad.

After drinking tea, Wang Kai stood up and said, "The officials have been talking to the generals these days, and they all thought that they should conquer Huizhou before the Yellow River rises. The waterway before the Zulichuan flows into the Yellow River is narrow and extremely turbulent. The more water rises, the more it is not conducive to us going down the river. Huizhou City is south of the Yellow River, and goes downstream to the ferry entrance, which is convenient for Hebei. And without crossing the river, the road can reach the southern courtyard of Tiandu Mountain where the Xishou Military Supervisor and Haozi are located. If you occupy it, it will be much more convenient for future wars. And if you occupy Huizhou, we can transport food and grass there in advance to prepare for the battle later."

Xu Ping nodded, asked Wang Kai to sit down, and said, "It's not impossible to occupy Huizhou first, but be sure to stop the troops under the strong city. The thieves can use not much force now, but the two sides of the Yellow River are narrow, so they can't set up any big battles. Once the troops under Huizhou are stopped and the thieves are raided from behind the southern courtyard of Tiandu Mountain, it will be difficult to prevent."

Liu Jianji said: "What the Rule says is very true. In recent days, I have received news that the thieves recruited civilians in Huizhou and are strengthening the Huizhou city walls. Although they have not yet increased their troops there, their intentions are obviously as the Rule says."

Everyone was talking, and Xu Ping was silent when he looked at the huge map hanging on the wall. Zulichuan was shallow and the waterway was extremely tortuous, so it was not convenient to transport grain. If the army was traveling along Zulichuan, the staff would not be small, and it would take a long time and consume a lot of money. The supply of grain was not only determined by the number of troops, but also had a great impact on the mode of action. The most feared thing was the short-term rush to transport grain. Hundreds of miles of distance were a huge test for logistics, not just a timely or not. The casualties of the logistics troops, various materials, and livestock consumption were a terrible number. Unless there were particularly huge benefits, or it was absolutely necessary, Xu Ping did not want to adopt this method.

Zu Lichuan meandered and twisted, and the valley entrance suddenly narrowed when it was about to merge into the Yellow River, forming a natural level. If the Song army could not quickly capture Huizhou, that level would jamm the neck of the mobile loss.

After thinking for a long time, Xu Ping turned around and said, "How to fight this battle? Let me first talk about a principle, that is, although we can adapt to summer battles, we suffer great losses. It is not casualties on the battle formation, but to support the advance soldiers, horses riding, donkeys, mules, camels that transport food will be consumed in large quantities. We cannot afford it. The thieves are backed by the grassland, and they can die from the grassland. Our own pasture was first built, and we cannot be so scruples now. Therefore, in this battle of Huizhou, we must minimize the use of livestock and use manpower if we can use manpower. Moreover, if the thieves retreat, do not chase the thieves, and occupy some territory is useless, and the horses riding will die. When the thieves launch a large-scale counterattack in the autumn, we must still have enough strength to attack. Therefore, this is just a limited war, and it is not time to decide the life and death of the thieves."

Everyone nodded. It is true that the Qinzhou army has not yet defeated the Dangxiang Army in one battle, and it is not time for the decisive battle. The battle against Huizhou is still based on occupying favorable terrain and preparing for subsequent large-scale wars. The favorable terrain is one of the passes and the other is the transportation line. For the Song army, the transportation line is more important than the pass. Advance northward, the front line is pushed to the area dominated by nomadic recruitment. It is completely impossible to recruit food and grass on the spot. It can only be transported from the rear. Once the transportation line is cut off, there is no way to start the war. The relatively open valley from Huizhou to the ancient ferry of the Song Dynasty is the advance base for the future attack on the Tiandushan area. Only by occupying there, opening up the transportation line, and storing enough war materials can we have the initiative in the war against Tiandushan.

After a moment of silence, Wang Kai stood up and said, "Master, the lower official has an idea, I don't know if it is feasible."

"Oh, let's hear it." Xu Ping signaled him to sit down, "You are the commander of the army and the master of the army. It is right to make an idea. Besides, you know more than anyone else about the situation in the army. Just talk about it if you have something to say."

Wang Kai said, "We fought in Lanzhou. After crossing the Yellow River, the place was open. It was dry and cool at the end of winter and early spring. Therefore, the strategy required a rapid advance and quick retreat. Huizhou was narrow, with only flat land along the river. It was summer. It might rain at any time, and there were many difficulties along the river. So the officials thought that the method used in Lanzhou was not suitable for this place, and there were another strategy. For example, we slowly walked along the river valley road, building cities and roads, and steadily occupied wherever we went."

Xu Ping smiled and said, "Is this a tough village to fight a stupid war? But although stupid war is not good, sometimes it is the best way to use it. The way to fight a war is easy, as long as the people who fight the war are not alone. What the military supervisor said is feasible, so it doesn't have to rely on animal power, and all people are all used to pile up. What we are better than the thieves? The most important thing is of course, we are the king's army, and we come from the north to punish people and not act like the thieves. Another thing is that we have a lot of people, a lot of money, a lot of food, and a lot of things. Everything is much more than the thieves! When we have a tough village to fight a stupid war, we use people to pile up the thieves and even if we use money to pile up the thieves!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone burst into laughter.
Chapter completed!